Amīr Khusrow (born 1253, Patiali [now in Uttar Pradesh], India—died 1325, Delhi) was an Indo-Persian poet, musician, and historian, widely regarded as one of India’s greatest Persian-language poets. Khusrow is popularly acknowledged as the creator of qawwali, a musical performance of Sufi poetry. During his lifetime, he developed Hindawi (also called Rekhta), a dialect of the Urdu language that is a blend of Urdu and Hindi.

Life and career

Amīr Khusrow was born to Bibi Daulatnaz, an Indian Rajput, and Amīr Saif-al-Dīn Maḥmūd Shamsī, a Turk who migrated to India during the reign of Iltutmish, sultan of Delhi. Khusrow’s father, who was an officer in Iltutmish’s service, died when Khusrow was eight years old. Young Khusrow was taken in by his maternal grandfather, who taught him Arabic, Persian, and calligraphy. During his youth he became a dedicated follower of the saint of Delhi, Niẓām al-Dīn Awliyāʾ, of the Chishtī dervish order; eventually he was buried next to the saint at the Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia, the shrine of Niẓām al-Dīn Awliyāʾ in New Delhi. Until his death, Khusrow served as a poet to about seven rulers of the Delhi sultanate, including Sultan Ghīyās-ud-Dīn Balban, Muḥammad Khān of Multān, and ʿAlāʾ-al-Dīn Khaljī.

The Hindu festival of Vasant Panchami (which marks the onset of spring in India) has been celebrated at the Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia in New Delhi since the 14th century. The practice is believed to have originated from an incident involving Niẓām al-Dīn Awliyāʾ and Khusrow. When Niẓām al-Dīn Awliyāʾ was devastated by the death of his 15-year-old nephew, he went into mourning, casting a somber mood over the zāwiyah (monastic complex). One spring day Khusrow encountered Hindu women celebrating Vasant Panchami near the Yamuna River. They were dressed in yellow and were singing songs while carrying mustard flowers. Khusrow learned that this was their way of thanking the gods for a good spring harvest. Inspired, he returned to the zāwiyah dressed similarly, singing and playing a dhol (double-headed drum), creating an atmosphere of joy. Seeing his disciple’s efforts made Niẓām al-Dīn Awliyāʾ smile after months of sorrow. Sufis honor the tradition by wearing yellow, offering mustard flowers, and performing qawwalis (Sufi songs) in Khusrow’s memory on Vasant Panchami.

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Contribution to Indian classical music

Khusrow was not only a poet but also a pioneer in Indian classical music. He is famously known for inventing tarana, a fast-paced vocal style that has become an integral part of classical music training and performance. His composition Sakal Ban (Hindi: “All Fields”), which describes the spring season, has been widely used in Indian classical music and popular culture. Some accounts, though debated, also credit Khusrow with the invention of the tabla (a pair of small drums).

Works

Sometimes known as Tuti-i-Hind (Persian: “the Parrot of India”), Amīr Khusrow wrote numerous works, among them five divans (collections of poems), which were compiled at different periods in his life, and his Khamsah (“Pentalogy”), a group of five long idylls in emulation of the Khamseh of the celebrated Persian poet Neẓāmī (c. 1141–1209). Khusrow’s pentalogy deals with general themes famous in Islamic literature. In addition to his poetry, he is known for a number of prose works, including the Kha zāʾin al-futūḥ (“The Treasure-Chambers of the Victories”), also known by the title Tārīkh-e ʿAlāʾī (“The History of Ala”). Two historical poems for which he is well known are Nuh Sipihr (“The Nine Heavens”) and the Tughluq-nāmah (“The Book of Tughluq”). Khusrow wrote in various poetic forms, including mas̄navī and ghazal.